A Christmas Miracle
by brendachong
Summary: A horrible tragedy struck when Kristy and her family were on vacation.....No relation to my other story at all.


kristy

[A/N: Thanks to CNJ for giving me inspiration. Sorry if you think I'm copying you. If you do, I will remove it immediately. Thanks anyway. Please review!]

Kristy Taylor wandered down the stairs into the kitchen of the log cabin. It was late December, and she was with her family at Shadow Lake. 

"Morning, Mom," her oldest son Greg greeted her brightly, taking a drink from his mug of hot chocolate.

"Hi," Kristy replied, planting a kiss on top of the fifteen-year-old's honey blond hair. She had no idea how he had gotten it, since both she and her husband Bart were dark-haired.

Her eldest daughter, Olivia, nine, was resting her head on the table. A plate heaped with buttered toast was in front of her. "Olivia," Kristy said as she began making a cup of tea. "Get up and eat."

"Are we going skiing later, Mom?" seven-year-old Allen asked as he bit into his sandwich. Kristy nodded, stirring her tea. "As long as you guys finish up quickly."  
"Yeah, hurry up, slowpokes!" Bart added as he came in carrying a still-sleeping three-year-old, Laura. He kissed his wife and children.

Finally, after some rushing, they were ready. Kristy checked her children (whose names spelled out G.O.A.L. in age order) to make sure they were bundled up in scarves, mittens, hats, boots and sweaters.

Trudging up to the ski lodge took a long time, because Allen kept falling behind when his laces untied. When they reached there, Bart took the three oldest children to rent their ski equipment while Kristy signed Laura up for the children's play activities – snowball fights, snowman-making and sledding.

After waving goodbye to Laura, Kristy went to the counter and got her stuff. She paid the man and after inspecting her kids, instructed them to be careful while they were skiing, then left.

Kristy whizzed down the ski slope, with Bart hot on her heels. She glanced down from the mountain at dozens of treetops, wishing her stepfather Watson could be there with her. Sadly, he had died from a second, more serious heart attack when she was in college.

Kristy zoomed on, not paying any attention to the people or things around her. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her trance by a shout. "Mrs Taylor! Come quick!"

Kristy skidded to a halt at the end of the slope and dug her ski poles into the snow. "What?" she asked in alarm.

A staff of the ski lodge, a sweet young lady called Hannah, was waving frantically at her. Kristy dashed towards her, panic rising.

"Your son, Aaron, I think, disappeared down a closed ski slope. The sign had been hidden in the snow after a small blizzard last night so he didn't see it. It's been closed for renovation, ma'am, and extremely dangerous," Hannah explained as they skied to the scene.

"Aaron? Allen!" Kristy exclaimed. "Oh my god! Allen!" She sped towards the indicated ski slope and stopped. "Where is he? What'll happen to him?"

Hannah mounted her skis. "Follow me, ma'am. We'll probably find him at the end. Just hope for the best." Kristy did as she was told.

Less than a minute later, Kristy gasped as her worst nightmare came true. Allen had crashed into some renovation stuff, and was lying unconscious in the snow.

"Allen!" Kristy's heart twisted as she dropped to her knees, examining her son. His right leg was twisted under him in a weird angle, and his left trouser was ripped to shreds. A ski pole had grazed his left arm, leaving a bleeding cut. His face was deathly pale, and his light brown hair was covered in ice.

"Ohmigod." With some help from Hannah, Kristy lifted Allen gently into a sitting position. "Allen, wake up. Allen!" Kristy's eyes filled with tears of worry and anxiety. Was Allen okay? Was he dead?

"Don't worry, help is here." Two strong, burly men from the ski lodge arrived with a stretcher. They put Allen on the stretcher and carried him up on foot. Kristy and Hannah trailed after, Kristy sobbing.

Back at the ski lodge lobby, Bart, Greg and Olivia were waiting with hot chocolate by the fireplace. Bart jumped up from the couch when he caught sight of her and put a comforting around her shoulders, whispering, "Is he all right? What are they going to do?"

Kristy could only shake her head and sniffle. She buried her face in Bart's shirt and cried. 

Ten minutes later, the ski lodge medical staff told them the results. Allen was still alive, but just barely. His heartbeat was faint and might fade any moment. He had lost a lot of blood through the cut in his left arm and another wound in the side of his head, which Kristy hadn't seen. Also, his right leg was broken and the ankle was sprained, and his right wrist was fractured.

They advised Kristy and Bart to take Allen to the nearest hospital, in the town two and a half miles away. Kristy and Bart discussed it quickly and decided that Kristy would take Laura and go with Allen to the hospital. Bart, Greg and Olivia would pack up their stuff and check out, then meet up with them later.

The medical staff put Allen into a van. The driver got into the front and Kristy and Laura got into the back. The drive there was slower than usual because of the blizzard. Snow up to a height of two feet blanketed the roads.

All Kristy could do was look at Allen's poor, pitiful body. They had bandaged up his wounds to stop the bleeding, but he still looked awful. Kristy hugged Laura close and cried. Poor Laura could only stare, confused, at her mother.

At the emergency room, two nurses immediately took charge. Kristy thanked the ski lodge driver and he left in the direction they had come in.

More waiting took place. Kristy got a can of iced coffee from a vending machine and two buns for herself and Laura. It was noon.

The doctor emerged from the operating theatre. He beckoned to Kristy and spoke to her gravely. "Your son is in bad condition. I set his broken bones and stitched up the cuts, but he suffered a concussion and major blood loss. His heartbeat is slowing and still won't go back to regular speed. Please be prepared for the worst. In the meantime, I'll keep you posted. He's still unconscious and can't have visitors yet." The doctor shook her hand slowly and walked off.

Kristy shook her head, more tears pooling. _Be prepared for the worst._ She might as well face it – Allen was dying. It was all her fault for being such an irresponsible parent. She should have gone skiing on the same slopes as them.

The day wore on. Bart arrived with the two other kids, and they waited and prayed, eating hardly anything. By night, Allen was still not in stable condition and Bart decided to book a room at a nearby hotel.

"I'm going to stay here overnight, in case Allen wakes up," Kristy told Bart as he put the kids in a taxi to the hotel. 

"Don't be silly," Bart said sternly. "You need sleep. I'm sure he'll still be fine tomorrow." He told the cab driver the name of the hotel. "Come on, Kris, let's go. All our luggage is in the taxi."

Kristy stamped her foot stubbornly. "I'm not going! I'm staying here with Allen. You may not be concerned about him, but I am." 

The driver cleared his throat impatiently. Bart sighed angrily and snapped, "Okay, fine, if that's the way you want to be! I'll see you tomorrow."

He got into the front passenger seat and slammed the door. The taxi rumbled off noisily.

Kristy slept in the corridor on a hard plastic chair, shivering in her winter jacket. By morning, Allen's heartbeat was back to normal and Bart returned, alone.

"Hi, Kris," he said warmly with a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry I was crabby last night. I was just worried about Allen. Listen, I sent the kids back in an early morning plane. My mother will pick them up at the airport and let them stay in her house till we get back."

"You what!" Kristy faced Bart in shock. "Are you kidding?"  
"No. They've already gone. Don't worry, Greg is responsible enough to take care of Laura and Olivia. It's better than them hanging around here all day doing nothing." Bart got a pack of cheese crackers from a machine and ate them.

"Okay." Kristy sat down on the chair again and prayed.

At ten-thirty, the doctor gave them the good news. Allen was well enough to have visitors. They went in hopefully. But he was still not awake.

"Wake up, Allen," Kristy whispered. She patted his arm, very softly. "Come on, wake up. I know you can do it."

His eyelids fluttered, and Kristy felt a shred of hope. "Come on, Allen. Wake up. You have to go back and see your brother and sisters again. Don't you want your Christmas presents, Allen? Come on, honey, I know you can do it!" she urged.

His eyes opened groggily. Kristy cheered under her breath, and she grinned at Bart. He beamed back. 

"Mom?" he croaked. He had a terrible sore throat. "Can I have some water?"

"Of course." Kristy poured some into a glass and handed it to him.

Two days later, Allen was discharged. As they rode in the taxi to the airport, Kristy began worrying. Allen had slight brain damage due to his concussion, and his speech was slurred. Also, he was physically very weak and needed a lot of time to recover. But at least he survived.

Kristy stared out of the window into the night. Snowflakes were falling softly, against the black velvet sky. It was Christmas Eve, and they would be back home by dawn. They would open their presents as usual on Christmas morning. It was really a miracle Allen could be with them. 


End file.
